No Big Increases in Air Fares Forecast for 2011

Hotels in the UK capital are quoting double rates for the period of the 2012 Olympic Games and past experience dictates that airlines will raise their fares and cut the number of low-fare seats. That’s the opinion of one expert forecasting trends in air fares in the coming years.

Summer 2012 will obviously not be a good time to visit London. However, as far as 2011 is concerned, given the recent steep increases in air fares, especially those on transatlantic flights, prices for flights in general may be much the same as they were in summer 2010. Industry insiders say that it may be wise to wait for discounts closer to the date of travel, as soon as they appear, rather than buy at high prices now.

In what could be a sign of things to come, some of the bigger airlines are already offering sales for flights next spring and summer, including Air France KLM, British Airways and American Airlines. Many summer 2010 fares were 30-40% higher than those for the same routes in 2009. Some, for example Chicago-Frankfurt, saw increases as high as 80%.